Object number2000.4.2

Brancusi in His Studio, Paris

Portfolio/Seriesfrom the portfolio The Early Years 1900-1927

Date1925

Artist Edward Jean Steichen (American, b. Luxembourg, 1879-1973)

CultureAmerican

MediumPhotogravure, printed 1981

EditionAP, from an edition of 500 plus 50 artist's proofs

DimensionsPlate: 10 5/16 x 8 3/8 in. (26.2 x 21.3 cm)
Sheet: 16 9/16 x 20 1/16 in. (42 x 51 cm)

Credit LineGift of Bannon McHenry (Bannon Jones, class of 1952)

On View

Not on view

Period20th c

Classification(s)

Photograph

InscribedOn verso, by unidentified hand, lower center edge in pencil: A.P. #1

Label TextIn this portrait of modernist sculptor Constantin Brancusi in his studio, Edward Steichen has captured the artist in a moment of quiet contemplation. Paused in the act of art-making, Brancusi sits on one of his sculptures and gazes at the space around him. The photograph is characterized by a strong sense of verticality – Brancusi’s sculptures rise into the air, and a column of repeating shapes dominates the left edge of the composition. With their elliptical and rhomboid forms, the sculptures echo the torso and head of the artist himself. Brancusi’s artistic practice was deeply informed by his studio space. He curated his studio as a work of art itself, focusing closely on the spatial relationship between his sculptural works and their locations within the space. In the 1920s, the artist opened his studio as an exhibition space for his artwork, and in 1997, the Centre Pompidou in Paris constructed an exact replica for the public to visit. In this photograph of the artistic space, Steichen portrays Brancusi’s innovative ability to bring art and studio together into a unified whole.

DescriptionBlack and white image of a seated man, Brancusi, in the foreground of his studio with a large carving tool in hand. Around him are vertical sculptures and chunks of stone, and in the center of the background is his iconic Bird in Space.

Terms

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu